Perfected Black Rain was naturally startled by this sudden turn of events, but his expression remained composed. His hand formed a rapid incantation gesture as he opened his mouth and spat out a small silver bell.
With a clear "ding," the bell immediately conjured a silver phantom over a hundred zhang tall, completely shrouding the old man's form within it.
At the same time, ring after ring of silver waves swept outward in every direction. The falling boulders that came into contact with these sound waves were instantly reduced to powder.
On the surfaces of the two mountains, grayish-white light flickered, and suddenly two enormous hands forged from countless fused stones thrust outward from within the mountains themselves. With five fingers splayed wide, each hand spanned several hundred zhang, seemingly brimming with inexhaustible power.
Two earth-shaking booms erupted!
The two colossal palms slammed into the silver bell's phantom from either side with the force of someone swatting a fly.
Though the small silver bell was a remarkable treasure of considerable renown, under such a devastating blow, it could only let out a mournful wail before shattering and vanishing.
Perfected Black Rain, trapped within, finally showed a look of alarm on his face. With a loud shout, he flung his sleeve upward, and a ball of silver light shot forth from it.
With a crack of thunder, a net woven from countless silver threads of electricity began to shimmer into existence, poised to unfurl.
It was none other than the Silver Firmament Thunder Net — a treasure named on the Myriad Spirits Origin Index!
With this net's wondrous powers, once deployed, it would naturally be more than sufficient to handle this sudden attack.
The old man felt a brief wave of relief. He began chanting incantations under his breath while reaching out with one hand to grasp at empty air. Several motes of spiritual light materialized in his palm simultaneously.
He was about to summon other treasures and immediately counterattack against his enemies.
But at this critical moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
The nearby void rippled, and a slender, jade-white hand suddenly reached out. With what appeared to be a casual grab, it snatched the not-yet-fully-deployed Thunder Net right out of the air.
Then, as the jade hand clenched its five fingers into a fist, the old man felt a searing, tearing pain rip through his very soul. The spiritual connection to the Silver Firmament Thunder Net was severed in an instant. He couldn't help but cry out, his body swaying dangerously in midair.
And in that brief moment of hesitation, the two enormous stone palms clapped together from either side like a pair of small mountains crashing into each other.
Though the old man, caught between shock and fury, hastily drew upon every ounce of his Magical Power and instantly conjured a gleaming green battle armor over his body —
The force of the two stone palms was simply too overwhelming!
A deafening boom that shook heaven and earth!
The old man's protective spiritual light and green battle armor cracked apart inch by inch under the colossal force, and his physical body burst apart on the spot, scattering into a cloud of blood mist.
With a sharp whoosh, a streak of black light shot out from the blood mist. After a single flash, it plunged into the void and vanished without a trace.
An elegant, melodious laugh rang out!
The jade hand that had seized the Silver Firmament Thunder Net turned over, extended a single finger, and flicked it lightly toward the direction where the black light had disappeared.
With a soft "pfft," a spark of silver light shot forth, flickering briefly before vanishing into the void.
The next moment, a muffled boom echoed. Over a hundred zhang away, a section of the void trembled, and a mass of black light reappeared, stumbling as it materialized. But after a brief waver, it immediately shot off into the distance like a crossbow bolt once more.
Within the black light, unmistakably, was a purple Nascent Soul only a few inches tall. Its features were identical to those of Perfected Black Rain, but its complexion was deathly pale, its face twisted in shock and fury, with faint traces of blood still clinging to the corners of its mouth.
"Trying to escape now? Don't be so delusional!" A woman's cold sneer rang out once more.
The jade hand swayed, and the Thunder Net it had been holding vanished without a trace. In its place appeared an ancient mirror wreathed in dark mist, which the hand gently waved in the direction of the fleeing Nascent Soul several times.
A pillar of dark, murky light shot forth. With a single flash, it engulfed the distant Nascent Soul within.
The Nascent Soul, which had been hurtling through the air, suddenly felt the surrounding space constrict around it. An irresistible suction seized its escape light and yanked it backward with brutal force.
This time, Perfected Black Rain's soul truly trembled with mortal terror. In desperation, the Nascent Soul let out a low roar and spat out a triangular command token, then opened its mouth again to expel several drops of vital blood, which dissolved into mist and seeped into the token.
Since the triangular token served as Perfected Black Rain's last line of defense for his Nascent Soul, it was naturally a rare and extraordinary treasure. With a clear ringing sound, it transformed into a swath of azure radiance and enveloped the Nascent Soul.
The instant the azure light touched the Nascent Soul, its backward trajectory ground to a halt. The light then flickered, and with it shielding the Nascent Soul, it once again streaked forward to escape.
"Hm! How interesting — it's a human race's Azure Nether Command Token. Seems I'll need to put in a bit more effort, or this little fellow might actually get away." The melodious woman's voice sounded once more, though this time it carried a hint of mild surprise.